Saudis look for short, last minute breaks, with Qatar seeing renewed interest

* Sojern’s figures showed that 35.8 percent of Saudi online holidaymakers are looking to book short local trips of up to one night

Published 30 Jan,2021 via Arab News - Economy RIYADH - Data from the travel-sector digital marketing platform Sojern shows that there has been a dramatic 70.5 percent surge in interest in Qatar since its restoration of relations with Saudi Arabia and the reopening of land and air borders between the two GCC neighbors.

“This potentially highlights interest in the new opportunities to travel across the borders presented by relations being restored… A positive increase in search volume to Qatar in the last 14 days from Saudi Arabia can be observed as compared to the searches in the last 28 days,” Sojern said in a blog analyzing the first two weeks of 2021.

While the reopening of Saudi borders has been delayed until May, according to an announcement on Friday, the Kingdom’s travellers are still keen to enjoy domestic breaks away.

Sojern’s figures showed that 35.8 percent of Saudi online holidaymakers are looking to book short local trips of up to one night, with 25.35 percent looking for stays away of up to three days. The research showed that 41.45 percent of Saudis searching online are booking trips with only two to seven days’ notice before travelling, with 16.9 percent booking with only one day’s notice.

Meanwhile, the Global Holiday Intent survey, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Reed Travel Exhibitions — organizer of the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) exhibition in Dubai, found that 46 percent of Middle Eastern “luxury travellers” said they intend to travel internationally once travel restrictions are lifted. The survey defines luxury travellers as those who tend to fly business or first-class and stay in five-star accommodation.

Fifty-two percent of respondents to the survey said they were planning to take a domestic holiday or staycation during 2021, and 25 percent were planning to make a business trip, either domestically or internationally. Only 4 percent of respondents said they had no plans to travel this year.

Danielle Curtis, exhibition director Middle East for Arabian Travel Market, which will take place in Dubai from May 16 to 19, said in a press statement: “Luxury travellers from the Middle East are more likely to travel with their children, compared with those from other regions (40 percent versus 36 percent). And when you add that fact to their planned frequency of travel, it makes the Middle East’s outbound luxury-travel sector one of the most sought after globally.”

According to the survey, Middle East luxury travellers prioritize natural beauty (34 percent), beach holidays (34 percent), a pleasant climate (29 percent), and connectivity (28 percent) when selecting a holiday destination. Their main concerns when traveling are health risks (43 percent) and safety (35 percent). One in three respondents also said that price was very important.

“With vaccines being rolled out across the world, travel professionals operating in the luxury segment will welcome the insight this survey has provided,” Curtis said.

While Saudi holidaymakers are becoming more active, the latest Saudi Arabia Real Estate Market Review Q4 2020, released last week by real estate consultancy company Knight Frank Middle East, showed that the hospitality sector is still suffering as a result of the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Average daily rates (ADRs) in Riyadh softened by 8.9 percent in the year to December 2020, while occupancy decreased by 11.1 percentage points. As a result, revenue per available room (RevPAR) decreased by 25.8 percent.

In Jeddah, ADRs fell year-on-year by 34.7 percent, while occupancy decreased by 20.1 percentage points. RevPAR levels fell by 57.6 percent over the same period.

However, the report was cautiously optimistic, saying that “the market’s resilience primarily stemmed from domestic leisure demand, as Saudi nationals looked to travel domestically rather than internationally.”

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